Guest Author
President Joe Biden was right to celebrate the American middle class as the engine that drives our economy in his State of the Union.
Manufacturing has been at the heart of the American economy for generations.
Domestic manufacturing jobs keep the economy resilient in the face of challenges like COVID and inflation. Our employees are secure in the knowledge that their work is vital to our business and, by extension, our community.
We applaud the President for continuing to recognize the value of a manufacturing job is not just in wages but also in the pride in what manufacturing is making — and that speaks directly to how we feel at Veterans Trading Company.
Veterans Trading Company is proud to be involved in numerous manufacturing projects but standing out from among the rest is the F-35 Lightning II. For years, we have been integral to the supply chain for the radar and communications system for the most advanced fighter jet in the world.
The F-35 program has helped our business expand, enabling us to create high-skilled, good-paying jobs in our communities in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Ocala, Florida. The F-35 program touches more than just our immediate neighborhoods. It sustains a formidable number of jobs — nearly 300,000 — across the United States. These are the kinds of jobs people move across the county to compete for: high-tech, cutting-edge positions which pay well.
We are proud to be the type of employer that supports the innovative technology onboard the F-35 which keeps the F-35 unmatched by any fighter jet.
The capabilities of the F-35 have made it irresistible to many of our allies. More than a dozen allies are adding the F-35 to their fleets. They are investing in American technology because they have been impressed by the F-35’s record. It recently passed 600,000 flight hours, demonstrating consistent growth and sustainability. It was deployed to Eastern Europe in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has successfully intimidated the Russians from encroaching further upon our allies.
That is all made possible by domestic manufacturers like Veterans Trading Company and our skilled workforce.
President Biden has mapped a path forward to sustain our current economic momentum but in his speech, he stopped short of detailing his plan to accomplish that goal. In his State of the Union address, he said the story of America “is a story of progress and resilience.” He also said he was committed to “modernizing our military to safeguard stability and deter aggression.”
Not only does the F-35 deter aggression but it provides crucial financial resiliency to hundreds of thousands of families. Funding full-rate production of the F-35 brings his words to life and accomplishes two goals at once.
The President frequently made the case for bipartisan action on many key issues facing our nation. The F-35 is another example of both parties coming together to support American businesses to keep our nation strong. According to an independent analysis from AeroDynamic Advisory, the F-35 injects more than $72 billion into our national economy every year.
We are proud to play such an important part in the American supply chain and have made the necessary investments to prepare for full production of the F-35 this year. The President said America is “working for more freedom, more dignity and more peace” everywhere in the world. We see that dignity and desire for peace in the expressions of our employees every day.
If President Biden wants to follow through on his pledge to American manufacturers, to middle class families, and to our allies abroad, then the path forward could not be clearer: fund full-rate production of the F-35.
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George Smith is the president of Veterans Trading Company in Ocala.
